


Freeze Up Your Demons

by ThanhXuan



Series: Winter Boy [1]
Category: Super Junior, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 5+1, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-04-22
Packaged: 2020-01-24 01:56:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,281
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18561598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThanhXuan/pseuds/ThanhXuan
Summary: Or the reasons why Hyukjae sometimes regrets meeting the Avengers, and one reason why he doesn't.





	1. Natasha Romanoff

**Author's Note:**

> Please don't read this if you're expecting Avengers stuff! Even if I'm a huge Marvel fan, this is mainly an eunhae fic, thanks!

The first time that Hyukjae meets Lee Donghae is also the day that he encounters the Avengers. Now, most people would probably be _thrilled_ by _such_ an opportunity to chance upon this _incredible_ team of superheroes. Hyukjae would be, too, really; he used to be a huge fan of Captain America when he was a kid. He still has some of his old posters stacked up somewhere in his old bedroom at his mom’s, back in Korea. There’re probably some old Howling Commandos figurines hidden somewhere in a cupboard as well. And drawing books and cosplay costumes, too.

Anyway. Hyukjae would _totally_ be thrilled about it, if it wasn’t for the fact that those very same Avengers are currently trying to _kill_ him.

Although that’s actually pretty awesome, too, come to think about it.

 

“ _Down_ , Jae!” Bucky shouts at him, just as an explosive arrow flies past the top of his head.

 

Right. Maybe Hyukjae should focus on the important things. That is to say, fucking _superheroes_ trying to _kill_ him. Or at least _seriously incapacitate_ him. Well, Hyukjae _and_ Bucky.

_Everything_ is Bucky’s fault.

 

“Everything’s your fucking fault, Barnes,” Hyukjae growls, because Bucky _needs_ to know, and throws a flare of ice to hit Iron Man’s suit.

 

Bucky ducks down when an agent of SHIELD tries to hit him from behind. “ _Shut_ the fuck _up_.”

 

No, really, all of this _is_ Bucky’s fault.

See, if Bucky hadn’t holed himself up in that old, creepy motel room next to Hyukjae’s all those months ago, and if he hadn’t complained about the _harmless_ spikes of ice that Hyukjae had _accidentally_ sent through the walls, the two of them wouldn’t have met. They wouldn’t have become so close to each other, would they, and got through all of this shit together, and did _that_ thing in _that_ bar in _that_ city _that_ night, and _then_ , Hyukjae wouldn’t be so busy trying to protect his _best friend’s life_.

Why the hell did Hyukjae kindly decide to keep Bucky again?

Ah, _right_ —the metal arm. Hyukjae’s always had a weak spot for shiny, bling-bling things.

 

“For _fuck’s_ sake, _Bucky_ ,” he complains, “can’t you just go through _one fucking day_ without someone trying to _kill y—_ ”

 

Before Hyukjae can finish his sentence, a lean tiger leaps at him and makes him fall over. Hyukjae yelps in shock. It’s big, and growling, and _shouldn’t be here in New York_.

The animal looms threateningly over him, keeping Hyukjae down with all of its weight. It bares its teeth dangerously. A menacing snarl rumbles out from the back of its throat.

With a quick trick that Bucky taught him— _that_ night—, Hyukjae manages to roll them over until he has the upper hand again; he almost loses a good chunk of his arm in the process. The tiger snaps its teeth at him. Hyukjae grips one of the tiger’s legs and _squeezes_ , sending bursts of coldness through his palm. The animal growls and squirms, and then finally _shifts back_.

 

And, _holy fucking shit_?!

 

“ _Why_ ,” Hyukjae raises his eyebrows, half-intrigued, half-amused. There’s a handsome, very _naked_ man sprawled under him, glaring at Hyukjae with all of his might. “ _Hello_ , ther—”

 

Hyukjae sees a flash of red hair and a glimpse of sleek black leather, before a blow strikes the back of his head. Pain, and then blackness. _Fuck_.


	2. Steve Rogers

“Come on, Bucky,” Captain America is resolved to plead. “Bucky, _please_ , just let me _help_ you.”

 

It’s several hours after the initial battle, and Hyukjae still feels like hurting someone. After an unfortunate encounter with a very big cat and Romanoff’s tingly toys, both of Hyukjae and Bucky got caught in the end. _Of course_ they got caught, Hyukjae wants to snort sarcastically. It’s not like they’ve been running away from international authorities for _years_ together, or that Bucky has _decades_ of crazy Winter Solder training behind him, or that they brought a whole HYDRA base down all _on their own_ , or that they—

 

“ _Bucky_ ,” Rogers insists, “ _please._ ”

 

And _fuck_ , just to top it all, fucking Captain America has been making his ears bleed for hours now. Apparently, the brave and unwavering hero of the United States of America has nothing against a bit of whining to get his best friend to open up. Except that Bucky is a stubborn motherfucker, and now it’s been literally _hours_ , and Hyukjae wants it to _stop_.

 

“Can’t you just make him _shut up_?” Hyukjae greets between his teeth, giving _his_ best friend a hard glare. Rogers stiffens when he hears him, but keeps ignoring him firmly. “He’s giving me a fucking headache.”

 

Bucky only offers him an unimpressed look, and then wriggles his left fingers as if to make a point. His whole metal arm has been fitted under an enormous weight, which could have been the size of a small military tank, in order to avoid any kind of escape attempt. His shoulder is trapped in such an awkward angle under the heavy metal contraption that Hyukjae even releases a sympathetic grunt. All Bucky can do right now is move his fingers just a little bit, and from the way his face scrunches up each time he tries, it probably isn’t painless.

Ambient temperature has been risen up considerably, certainly in a similar effort to quell down Hyukjae’s mutant abilities. It leaves both of Hyukjae and Bucky feeling tired, hot and sweaty, while they start to edge on the uncomfortable side of breathless. Technically, Hyukjae could still freeze up this whole building and more considering the extent of his powers, but that’s too exhausting to achieve. And he _won’t_ let Bucky behind.

 

“Bucky? Bucky, can you hear me?” Rogers calls again.

 

“For fuck’s sake,” Hyukjae sulks again. He clenches his fist, closes his eyes, and then slowly uncurls his fingers. Air humidity freezes and forms ice particles that curls into a tiny sphere above his palm, glowing almost invitingly in the middle of such unbearable warmth. Hyukjae sends it towards Bucky, who lets out a sigh of relief when it melts on his skin. He then focuses on lowering down his own body heat as he takes in their surroundings once again.

 

No windows. A few aeration vents, though too small to fit Bucky’s frame inside. There’s an armored door in one far corner, and Hyukjae’s pretty sure he could find a way to take it down with a bit of ice, but he can already predict the hundreds of SHIELD agents waiting for them on the other side. _No good_ , Hyukjae sighs.

It seems like they’re in some kind of basement at SHIELD. Or maybe at Avengers Tower, now that Hyukjae thinks about it. The walls are all made of light grey concrete except for a large portion of it, which is actually a sort of tinted window. There’s an observation room on the other side, where Captain America is trying to reason with Bucky through the speakers.

Another man is also there, trying to fade into the décor in one dark corner of the room. It’s the guy who attacked Hyukjae as a tiger earlier; he’s fully clothed this time, and Hyukjae feels very, very disappointed about that. The man is still very handsome though, and there’s something a little awkward and cute about him that makes Hyukjae want to tease him.

 

“Look,” Rogers says, “maybe if you would just talk to me, we could—”

 

“Oh, come _on_ ,” Hyukjae finally snaps, and he can see Bucky sending him a wary glance from the corner of the eyes. Cat Man startles as well, peering curiously in Hyukjae’s direction. “Man, can you not just take a _hint_? He _doesn’t_ want to talk to you, so be a good pal and kindly _fuck off_.”

It’s pretty obvious that Rogers won’t comply, considering that his own level of stubbornness is about as despairing as Bucky’s, so Hyukjae immediately goes on, “Or at least let his fucking arm alone, bro. I get the whole ‘ _let’s neutralize the super villains_ ’, but do you _know_ how much it cost me to fix up that damn metal arm?” He points an accusing finger in the direction of Bucky’s trapped left arm. “ _Months_ of hard, honest work, man.”

 

Captain America finally deigns to look in Hyukjae’s direction. He’s standing very straight and looking very stern, and Hyukjae’s about to piss in his pants from the force of his glare alone, but he’s not been best friends with Bucky for nothing. Steve Rogers is wearing a Very Disapproving Frown on his face, and Hyukjae is almost amused to note that Bucky’s own I Am Unhappy and/or Hungry face is an exact same copy.

On his part, Cat Man is busy glancing back and forth between Rogers and Hyukjae, as though he was watching a very intense tennis match.

 

“Months of hard, honest work, huh?” Rogers repeats, sounding torn between sarcasm and reluctant curiosity.

 

“Well, someone probably did,” Hyukjae retorts with an unconcerned shrug. Cat Man blinks, and then releases a noise that sounds suspiciously like a snicker. “It makes an expensive bill to get that fucking shiny bling-bling arm checked up; gotta find all of that money _somewhere._ ”

 

Bucky snorts behind him and utters his very first words since they got caught. “I thought you _liked_ my shiny bling-bling,” he grumbles as he wriggles his fingers pointedly.

 

“Course I like it,” Hyukjae waves a dismissing hand in his direction. “Why do you even think that I still keep you around, huh?”

 

“ _You_ keep _me_ around?! Hold on now, _pal_ , because I’m pretty sure that—”

 

“ _Anyway_.” Hyukjae straightens up and folds his arms on his chest. “No offense, man, but as Captain America—as a _symbol_ of the United States of America, really—, you should be _very_ ashamed of your actions. Yep, _very_ ashamed indeed; attacking two _innocent_ men that have done _nothing_ wrong, and then holding them _hostages_ in a creepy building basement, without any proof of a crime.”

 

Rogers narrows his eyes defiantly. “You just implied that you stole money from people.”

 

“I was just stating the obvious; some people do work very hard and honestly, don’t they?” Hyukjae snorted. “And anyway, there _is_ such a thing called presumption of innocence, Captain. You should know, it’s in your constitution.”

 

Rogers splutters indignantly this time, but Hyukjae can see that he’s hesitating. Trust Captain America to be moved by the threat of dirtying the USA’s reputation. “You’re not American,” Rogers points out suspiciously.

 

“Maybe,” Hyukjae concedes smugly, “but this is New York, big boy, and _that’s_ American.”

 

That gives Rogers something to think about. Uncertainty is plastered all over his face, and Hyukjae feels a sick kind of satisfaction when he sees it. And as a plus, Cat Man looks rather impressed by his speech. Rogers tries to reach out for Bucky once again and fails miserably, once again, before he finally stomps out of the room.

As soon as the door closes behind Rogers, Hyukjae relaxes finally. He stretches his arms far above his head, groaning under his breath, and bounces a little on his feet. Acting angry is such a tiring job.

 

“I did pretty well, didn’t I?” he exclaims rather cheerfully.

 

“Sure,” Bucky snorts, rolling his eyes. He looks reluctantly amused. “I’m pretty sure that’s not what’s written in my constitution, Jae. You sounded like a damned lawyer for a moment there, though.”

 

Hyukjae shrugs. “Maybe it’s in mine. You just gotta make it look like you know what the hell you’re saying, man,” he comments wisely. “He’s going to go and complain to someone—that buys us a bit of time, you know? Makes us look tough. And you need to uphold your grumpy-grouchy brainwashed psychopath act, don’t you?”

 

“ _Fuck_ off.”

 

Cat Man releases a short laugh this time.

 

Hyukjae turns around to face him, smiling triumphantly. “Having fun, are we?” he teases. “You know what, since we have the time, maybe we should get to know each other a bit more, too. Right, Big Cat?”

 

Cat Man approaches, looking half-curious and half-cautious, and stops in front of the glass that separates them. His fringe falls just below his eyebrows while his hair is a little damp, probably from a shower. The bumps of his cheeks are chubby and cute, and Hyukjae feels the urge to pinch them.

“Don’t call me Big Cat,” the man frowns, but there’s a hint of a reluctant smile on the corners of his lips. “That’s not very nice.”

 

Hyukjae smiles unrepentantly. “I don’t know your name,” he points out. “You’re from Korea, aren’t you? I can hear it in your accent. Where are you from?”

 

Big Cat hesitates. He looks to be around Hyukjae’s age, which makes him quite young to be an Avenger already. But then again, Spiderman looks like he could still be in kindergarten.

 

“I’m from Mokpo,” Cat Man answers finally.

 

“Hmm,” Hyukjae nods thoughtfully. “I’m from Incheon.” He pauses. “What’s your name?”

 

Big Cat opens his mouth with an amused expression on his face, maybe to answer or not—but that’s when Rogers storms back inside the observation room with a one-eyed man following him. Big Cat immediately steps back towards the wall. Talk about a fucking terrible timing. Hyukjae rolls his eyes, glaring sulkily at Rogers and the third man.

Bucky sighs yet once again.


	3. Nick Fury

It happens that in the great United States of America, being the Winter Soldier and/or the best friend of the Winter Soldier implies deserving punishment. Bucky is a war hero, though, almost as famous as Captain America, which means that his notoriety allows them to get a lighter sentence than expected. Hyukjae, on the other hand, officially hates his life with a vengeance.

Instead of being thrown in prison, Bucky and Hyukjae have to clean up litter from Central Park. There they are, the fearsome Winter Soldier and the incredibly handsome mutant, holding damned shovels and fucking brooms to pick up candy wrappings. Hyukjae is currently living one of the most humiliating moments of his life. He’s wearing fluorescent green clothes under the watchful eyes of one hovering Steve Rogers, he has a tracker locked around his ankle, and already three kids have pointed curious fingers in his direction. Prison would have been a kinder verdict, probably.

 

“I hate you. It’s all your fault,” Hyukjae declares darkly. He promptly freezes a plastic bag so it won’t fly away and stabs it with his shovel. “I fucking _hate_ you, Barnes, and I should have just stolen your arm and then let you to rot in that creepy motel that night, and for _fuck’s sake_ , go take a shower, _bro_. You smell like death.”

 

Bucky snorts, smirking. Just to spite Hyukjae, because he’s an asshole like that, he raises his arms high up in the air as if to stretch them. “Been there, done that, haven’t you?” Bucky scoffs. “Just last Wednesday when Stark was trying to update my arm, you nicked it and I had to go arm-less for a whole fuckin’ week.”

 

Blinking, Hyukjae tilts his head to the side. “Ah, yeah,” he sighs wistfully. “Good old times.”

 

They continue to work in silence, picking up pieces of paper and scrubbing gums from the ground, all under the keen stare of Captain America. Hyukjae is half-tempted to act as the reasonable man and tell him to fuck off, but mostly he’s satisfied to know that Rogers is probably jealous of his friendship with Bucky. Thanks the odds for small favors, he supposes. It’s not like he gets a lot of those lately anyway.

 

“He’s my best friend, you know?” Bucky says suddenly.

 

Hyukjae grunts noncommittally.

 

“It’s been _years_ since, since the. The _war_ , of course, but.” Bucky frowns, looking all troubled. His bored gaze hardens into an intense glare while his hand tightens around his broom.

 

For a moment, it’s the Winter Soldier that stands there, tense and ready to attack, until Hyukjae nudges his foot with his own. “Stop it,” Hyukjae says. He sighs, sends a nasty look in Rogers’ direction, and then shrugs reluctantly. “Look, man, if you wanna talk to him, then go ahead. Like you said, it’s been _years_ since the war, and it’s also been years since you had one of your psychotic, crazy murderous episodes. What’s the worst that can happen?”

 

Bucky sends him a doubtful glance. “You mean besides _killing_ somebody?”

 

“Now who’s being dramatic?” Hyukjae yawns. “I’ve knocked you out once; I can knock you out again. Just gotta ask, bro.” Smiling, he shoves Bucky’s shoulder gently. “We’re the Winter Men, aren’t me? Here for each other and all that shit.”

 

“You’re probably right.” A pause. “Ain’t that fuckin’ unbelievable, though, to hear me say that _you_ , out of all people, are actually _right_.”

 

“Fuck _off_.”

 

Hyukjae huffs sulkily and stomps away within the limits that his tracker allows. It starts beeping loudly when he gets a bit too far, prompting him to send yet another glare at Rogers; only him, Nick Fury and a handful of other people can disable the device and let him go back to his cell in Stark’s basement. Hyukjae isn’t sure who he resents the most; Steve Rogers just out of principles, or Nick Fury for sentencing him with such a degrading task and keeping him on a leash.

As Hyukjae sees Bucky stalking closer to Rogers, Hyukjae hears a familiar voice mumble encouraging words behind a bush. Intrigued, he drops his broom and shovel down, then steps closer. Big Cat Slash Lee Donghae—thanks Barton for this, by the way—is crouching in front of a flock of little birds, his hand full of bread crumbles. He’s trying to get them to come closer, but from the way it looks, it’s not working very well. Hyukjae has to wonder if it’s because Donghae’s actually a Big Cat and the birds have figured it out.

 

“Come on,” Donghae says soothingly. The birds eye him suspiciously. “Come on, it’s for you, come eat.”

 

Hyukjae raises an amused eyebrow. “You should probably leave the crumbles on the floor and wait for them to come on their own, you know.”

 

Donghae yelps, startled. He almost literally jumps out of his skin. Suddenly, all of his clothes fall onto the ground and he’s nowhere to be seen.

 

“ _Meow_.”

 

Instinctively, Hyukjae looks down to the source of the muffled noise. His jaw drops open, torn between silent astonishment and the urge to burst out laughing.

In the spot where Donghae had been crouching just a fraction of second ago is a cat. A tiny, _tiny_ Little Cat. He’s entangled in Donghae’s clothes, and meowing in distress. His little paws are wobbly, threatening to break the fragile balance of the small, very small animal.

 

“Uh.” Hyukjae gulps. “ _Uh_.”

 

As seamlessly as he shifted the first time, Donghae transforms back into his human form. He’s flushed red from head to toe—and when Hyukjae says that, he _means_ it, because he can literally see _everything_. Donghae is naked again, and grabbing desperately at his clothes to cover whatever is left of his dignity.

 

“I’m so sorry, I just, I.” Donghae scrambles back up on his feet and stumbles backwards. “You, you _startled_ me!” Donghae complains with a strangled voice, and before Hyukjae can say anything for his own defense, he turns around and promptly runs away.

 

“ _Wait_!” Hyukjae exclaims.

 

Hyukjae tries to follow him, but suddenly, his tracker goes off and beeps loudly. Hyukjae has stepped past the limits that the device allows. Quickly, a strong hand grabs his arm and pulls him back firmly.

 

“ _What_ is going on?” Rogers demands.

 

“Jae?” Bucky asks as he rushes by his sides. “What’s up?”

 

Hyukjae groans exasperatedly. “ _Fuck_ ,” he grumbles. “He was just, he was just _there_.”

 

“But _who_?” Bucky frowns.

 

Staring longingly at the shirt that Donghae has forgotten behind, Hyukjae releases a long sigh. “A very, _very_ cute little cat.” He turns around and grabs Bucky by shoulders. “Man,” Hyukjae says very seriously, “I think I’m falling in love.”

 

And then, to Rogers, “But hey, on the bright side, I hate Fury a lot more than I hate you right now.”


	4. Thor Odinso & Clint Barton

Hyukjae blinks dazedly. There’s a bright, beautiful smile shining in his direction, and it’s almost as blinding at the sun. Big brown eyes are peering up earnestly at him, and Hyukjae swears that for a second, his heart skips a beat or two. Hyukjae counts to three, and then finally remembers that staring is probably bad manners. It’s kind of embarrassing, too, come to think of it. That hasn’t stopped him _before_ , but he knows that he should do something about it.

 

“Hyukjae?” Donghae has that cute, little frown creasing his forehead. “Hyukjae, are you listening?”

 

_Ah, Lee Donghae_ , Hyukjae thinks wistfully. The most accurate representation of perfection _itself_ —that is who Donghae really is. He’s the idol of all sin-worshippers, the very reason of their damnation. The world would be a sad, _sad_ place without him around to grace them with his presence.

And _such_ a successful, courageous human-being, too. No, really, Hyukjae was serious when he said _perfect_. Because Lee Donghae is an apprentice Avenger, apparently, and is a mutant just like Hyukjae, except that he’s a feline shape-shifter. And isn’t that so fucking _amazing_?!

Yes. Yes, it is.

 

“Hyukjae?”

 

“I. What. You.” Hyukjae clears his throat. He tries for a charming grin. “I mean, yeah, hi.”

 

In a corner of the room—the farthest away possible from Clint and Thor—, Bucky snorts and rolls his eyes exaggeratedly at him. Hyukjae ignores his poor excuse of a best friend. Well, if he still _is_ , because _apparently_ , _Steve Rogers_ was Bucky’s best friend _first_ , and—

 

(“What are you, five years old?” Bucky raises a derisive eyebrow at him.

 

“I hate you.”

 

“Oh, because _that’s_ very mature.”

 

“Go away, _loser._ ”)

 

Well. Anyway.

 

“Hyukjae?” Donghae insists. “Are you _sure_ you’re okay? Maybe you should go down to medical, you know.”

 

“What?” Hyukjae blinks. Frowns. “Oh, no, I, I was just… thinking. Yeah, thinking. Anyway, uh. What’s up?”

 

Nibbling anxiously on his lower lip, Donghae sends him a shy little glance. “I just, I just wanted to apologize about the, the running away from you thing at the park.” He pauses. “When I’m startled, I just, I just shift instinctively, so I. Yeah, so, yeah.”

 

Oh, _that_. That was _totally_ okay. Because, you know what, that pushed Donghae to talk to Hyukjae. Which is _awesome_. And hey, if anybody thinks he’s not going to try and get Donghae on a date, they’re _seriously_ misinformed.

 

Smooth Mother-Freezer. That’s what they used to call him at school.

 

From the corners of the eyes, Hyukjae sees Barton dangling from one of the ventilation vents in the ceiling. He’s peering at them curiously, obviously amused, while Thor is sweet-talking his hammer and demands that a grand fest is held in the honor of their great victory over some alien invasion or another. Thanks whoever is up there—not Barton, though—, at least Donghae is a sane almost-Avenger.

 

“No, no, it’s okay,” Hyukjae reassures him with a smile. His hands are damp with sweat, and goddamn, he’s already starting to get nervous. He might fool around a lot, but he _really_ likes Donghae—likes his smiles and his shy looks and his adorable frowns. And just, he’s just such a little piece of furry sunshine, and if _he could just_ — “No problem,” Hyukjae clears his throat. “But, hey, I. I’m kind of… hungry? So I was wondering if you. If you were too, maybe? Hungry?”

 

Barton snorts above their head and starts snickering into his hands.

 

Donghae tilts his head to the side. “Sure!” he smiles to Hyukjae. “I’d love to! We could—”

 

“A feast?! A feast would be most fitting to quell the terrible hunger that has taken over my body!” Thor booms in exclamation marks. “A feast shall be held, to celebrate our victory and reward us warriors as we most certainly deserve, after such a fierce, courageous battle!”

 

Barton is laughing so hard now that he’s almost completely slipped out of his ventilation vent.

 

“Wait, hold on, I—” Hyukjae tries to say.

 

“Now, my brother from another mother!” Thor exclaims loudly over him. “You sure are a warrior of many skills and many experiences that I would be honored to hear! Come, my friend, and let’s celebrate this new friendship of ours!”

 

Barton yelps in surprise when he suddenly finds himself falling out of the vent and hitting the ground. Nobody bothers to go help him.

 

Donghae sends Hyukjae an excited smile. “That’d be great! We could all have lunch together and get to know each other, while Steve and—” He glances at Bucky, who studiously avoids his gaze. “—while Steve finishes his… unfinished business,” he mumbles lamely.

 

And, really, who is Hyukjae to say no to such bright, beautiful eyes? Donghae can say anything and Hyukjae _knows_ , he _knows_ that it’s the right decision.


	5. Tony Stark & Bucky Barnes

Okay, so the thing is, Hyukjae does like Tony just a little bit.

There’s the thing about him being filthy rich, first of all. Hyukjae appreciates people’s wealth as much as a food critic would when faced with a gastronomic dish. The taste of money is one never rivalled before. Thanks to those quasi-unlimited resources, Hyukjae’s room at Avengers Tower is now a _whole fucking floor_. He gets awesome new suits for missions on a weekly basis, too, and he swears that he’s never seen that much food in one kitchen before.

But Tony is also _so much more than that_. The size of his bank account is frankly the most insignificant quality that he has. Because, see, Tony is also _smart_ and _generous_ and _so much fun_. He does fool around a lot and does get sarcastic almost all the damn time—he’d be pretty much an asshole, truthfully, if not for the fact that he really does _care_.

Tony _cares_ for all of his team and their well-being, even before his own. He cares about Rogers’ American shield, and Thor’s must-have pop tarts, and Bucky’s bling-bling arm, and Hyukjae’s addiction for strawberry milk. He does nothing about his wounds and injuries, just to improve the suits and weapons. He cares about Banner’s need for research funding, and Romanoff’s nostalgia for Russian movies. He doesn’t sleep and he doesn’t eat, but funds and finds all of the filmography that he can. He knows about Barton’s kids, and he knows about Peter’s struggles with student debt, and Donghae’s fondness for milk and catnip.

Tony’s a little bit broken inside, too. He might never fix up all of the damage, thanks to some astounding denying skills. They’re _all_ a little broken, of course—but maybe, just maybe Tony is a lot more than them.

The thing is that Tony’s also the best at hiding that he’s hurting, and that’s why Tony is Hyukjae’s favorite out of all the Avengers—except for Donghae, of course. And that’s why Hyukjae does his best to help, too. Well, to be fair, Hyukjae’s never been really good at being the good guy, but Tony hasn’t kicked him out yet, so he thinks it’s progress.

_And_ Tony doesn’t yell at Hyukjae whenever he tries to freeze up Thor’s Mjo-whatsit hammer. In fact, Tony _encourages_ him to. For the sake of science, he would repeat very seriously, both to Hyukjae’s delight and Rogers’ fond exasperation. Sometimes, Hyukjae even gets to throw strong blows of ice to the Iron Man suit so that Tony can improve all the techs.

Even Bucky agrees that Tony is _the cool bro in the house._

Hyukjae might be only on probation for now, what with being the Winter Soldier’s best-friend-slash-accomplice, but he’s starting to hope that he can make it to Avenger full-time someday. The pay must be _huge_. That might not be the next day at dawn though, considering the opinion that Fury has of him, but Rogers’ started to warm up to him, which is. Well. It’s good, he supposes.

Anyway, if Hyukjae had to put everything in a nutshell, the Avengers are kind of pretty cool and he really likes Tony.

No, the problem is, the _only_ problem is that Tony has the _worst timings ever_. Granted, all of the Avengers seem to have the worst timings ever, but Tony just has to be the best at everything he does. Even the things that _definitely_ aren’t helping Hyukjae’s love life _at all_.

 

Because there Hyukjae is, in Central Park just a little after lunch, _holding Donghae’s fucking hand_. That’s _right_ , people, Hyukjae is finally holding the Holy Grail in-between his very fingers. Hyukjae is almost sure that his heart is about to burst out of his chest, and it’s only been something like _four minutes and thirty-three fucking seconds. This_ is what happiness must feel like. There’s no other explanation.

Thanks to a bit of a frozen incentive, Thor and Barton had the tact to leave right after crashing their kind-of-date-but-also-kind-of-not lunch, leaving Hyukjae and Donghae alone together. Hyukjae then said, _hey, why not take a stroll through Central Park_ , and Donghae replied, _yes, sure, I’d love to, Hyukjae!_

(Hyukjae _loves_ hearing his name on Donghae’s lips. Bucky thinks that Hyukjae’s just plain creepy.)

And so Hyukjae and Donghae went and chatted and strolled through Central Park. Being the clumsy and adorable Little Cat that he was, Donghae then yelped as he tripped on a frozen pebble—might have been Hyukjae, that, but we’ll never know, will we? Hyukjae heroically reached out and saved him from a certain death, then held his hand just in case he’d fall again.

 

Now— _now_ , Donghae is staring up at him from under his eyelashes, awkward and sweet and blushing. “Uh, I, I,” he stutters shyly. “Thanks.”

 

“You’re welcome,” Hyukjae replies with a smile and squeezes Donghae’s hand gently. “Be careful though.”

 

“Yeah, I, uh, I will.”

 

Donghae smiles again, this time brighter and a bit more breathtaking than the last. And Hyukjae thinks, _that’s it, I want to kiss him, I am going to kiss him_. Hyukjae leans over slowly, because he’s a gentleman and he kisses no one without their explicit consent, and feels a thrill run up his body when Donghae’s eyes flutter shut softly. There it is, his consent, his precious silent _yes_ , his unsaid and tentative, _yes, kiss me_ , that Hyukjae wanted to have. Hyukjae gets closer and closer, _because he can_ , until he can feel Donghae’s breath caressing his face. He cups Donghae’s face with his other hand, and their lips are _just an inch apart_ , and that’s _it_ , they’re going to _kiss_ , they’re _finally_ going to—

 

“ _AVENGERS ASSEMBLE_.”

 

Hyukjae and Donghae startle in the same breath. They jump almost a mile away from each other as Rogers’ recorded authoritative voice starts off from their respective Starkphones. Still blushing, Donghae fumbles around his pockets to take his out and throws him an apologetic look.

 

“What.” Hyukjae stares at him blankly. “What?” He turns his Starkphone on furiously and barks into it, “ _What_?!”

 

“ _Hello, this is The Avengers’ NYC Cockblocking Service_ ,” Bucky’s voice answers cheerfully. “ _How may I help you, Sir?_ ”

 

“You’ve got to be _fucking kidding me_?!” Hyukjae hisses into the device. Although he can’t hear what Donghae’s saying to Barton, he guesses that he must be agreeing with him.

 

“ _Nope, sorry_ ,” Bucky says as he munches on chips, and he sounds like he’s enjoying this _way_ too much. “ _Stark just did something with whatever and blew up some stuff, and now there’s this bunch of giant frogs reproducing and trying to eat all of New York._ ”

 

Hyukjae wants to struggle his best friend through the phone. “Then _take care of it_?! It’s _giant frogs_ , not the apocalypse?!”

 

“ _That ain’t how you gonna become a full-time Avenger, my bro_ ,” Bucky retorts with a snicker. “ _Whatever will Donghae say when he realizes that half of New York is dead because you were more interested in makin’ out than savin’ poor, innocent people?_ ”

 

Hyukjae screams.

 

So yeah, the _worst_ timing ever. He _hates_ Bucky, but that’s nothing new. _Now_ , he also _hates_ Stark very, _very_ much.


	6. Lee Donghae (+1)

Thanks to some nastier than expected giant frogs, Hyukjae wakes up in a hospital bed. He hasn’t even opened his eyes yet but the painkillers are already wearing off, and _everything_ hurts. Not even an _inch_ of him seems to be spared off the pain.

His whole body hurts, first of all. Hyukjae’s pretty sure that he’s broken _at least_ a dozen bones. It’s painful to even _breathe_ , of all things, and his left arm feels like someone decided to pour liters of fucking _acid_ on it. Hyukjae’s temples are aching with an intense headache, too, and his throat is almost fully parched with dehydration. Fucking _fantastic_. He can’t say that this is the worst that he’s ever experienced, considering his affiliations, but he’s also seen much, _much_ better days.

But more than just physical pain, Hyukjae’s _damned pride_ is hurt.

Giant _fucking_ frogs, goddamn it. _How_ in the world did this even _happened_?! This is—this is _ridiculous_ , it’s what it is. All those slimy things did was spit out burning acid and jump all around the streets; it’s not like he couldn’t have handled it, _right_?! And yeah, okay, _maybe_ they’d been thirty feet tall, but _still_. He’s good enough to knock out Bucky on his feet and bring down entire HYDRA bases all on his own, but _giant frogs_?! Oh, no, _no_ , giant frogs are too much of a hassle for him, _aren’t_ they? Just let him stick with crazy Nazi agents and brainwashed ex-KGB assassins instead.

So, _yeah_. Hyukjae is _fucking mad_.

Hyukjae’s headache intensifies promptly. His heart starts to pound painfully within his chest. He supposes that getting so worked up right after such a beating up isn’t really health-friendly, after all.

Suddenly, an assault of noises collides with his ears. It feels a bit like he’d been underwater for too long and someone just pulled him up to the surface, except that his brain wasn’t ready to take it all in at once. And _fuck_ , the _headache._ Groaning under his breath, Hyukjae manages to open his eyes for a fraction of second.

He just has enough time to see a giant lion growling furiously at a bunch of frightened nurses, before he’s unconscious all over again.

.

 

The next time that Hyukjae wakes up, there’re pairs of dark brown and baby blues eyes staring down worriedly at him. The first are Bucky’s, he’s sure of it, and he thinks, he _thinks_ that the second person is Rogers. Steve, maybe. He _did_ save him with Donghae from the giant frogs, so. Perhaps it’s a good enough reason to call him by his first name, right? Right.

There’s also a _really_ Big Cat at the feet of his bed. And it looks like it’s— _keeping guard_? Hyukjae’s not really sure. But Big Cat is glaring fiercely at both Bucky and Steve, as if they might try to kill him in his sleep. It’s kind of funny, really.

Hyukjae tries to open his mouth to tell Donghae, _you’re adorable, do you know that_? But the following second, he’s already out cold.

.

 

“When do you think he’ll wake up?” says someone, and Hyukjae thinks it’s Tony, except that they sound uncharacteristically concerned.

 

 “Soon enough,” Bucky—it kind of sounds like Bucky—says. “He’s a tough cookie. It’s just how his body works.”

 

“I don’t think it’ll ever be soon enough,” Steve sighs wearily. “Donghae hasn’t changed back ever since it happened. He just keeps whining at Hyukjae or growling at the nurses and doctors that try to approach him.”

 

“Never say that a cat can’t be monogamous, I suppose.”

 

They hear a loud, warning tiger’s growl, before it’s all black again.

.

 

Hyukjae feels like he should maybe explain himself.

It’s not so much that he has such a weak body that he needs several days to get back up on his feet, really. It’s more that he has a very protective, very strong, and very demanding recovery system. Whenever he’s in a critical state, his body shuts down on its own. It freezes up the damage so it won’t get worse, and then works on healing him from the inside. His overall temperature then starts to go up and down, until Hyukjae’s fully functional again. And when he says _fully functional_ , he means that he won’t have even a _trace_ of a scar left on his body.

Hyukjae supposes that’s what they call a secondary mutant ability.

Bucky knows about it because once, Hyukjae shut down after getting shot by a nasty HYDRA weapon. For eight entire days, Hyukjae stayed completely unconscious. When he finally woke up, Bucky nearly sent him into relapse when he punched Hyukjae with his shiny bling-bling for ‘ _scaring the fuckin’ life outta me, you fuckin’ idiot_ ’.

Hyukjae’s never thought about mentioning it to the Avengers though, simply because it usually happens so rarely. And, really, he didn’t anticipate that picking up litter from Central Park and fighting giant frogs was actually so deadly. Still, Steve and Tony and Hulk, and basically _the whole team_ , think that he should have said _something_ , because, _do you know how fucking worried we were, you fucking asshole?!_

 

“ _Fine_ ,” Hyukjae sighs in exasperation. “Fine, _okay_ , I am _sorry_ I didn’t say anything. Now can we please just _let it go_?”

 

Steve is still glaring down at him from his six feet and half, and Hyukjae’s surprised to realize that it’s not so much out of _I Am Captain America_ anger as it is genuine concern. Tony seems ready to put on the suit to blast him six ways to Sunday— _it’s no big deal, right,_ he snorts sarcastically, _since you’ll survive anyway_. Hyukjae thinks Tony’s being a bit hypocritical right now, but provocation probably isn’t his best bet at the moment. While Bruce looks like he’s about to burst out with thousands of scientific questions, he’s still scolding Hyukjae’s ears off, and Natasha is glaring at him so murderously that he’s worried he might drop dread any second now. Clint is ranting about Hyukjae’s stupidity to Coulson, and Coulson is looking Very Disapproving. And fucking Thor looks like he’s about to _cry_ , goddamn it, and Hyukjae’s _definitely_ not ready for all of this.

 

“Can’t you do _anything_?” Hyukjae hisses desperately at Bucky, and Bucky raises a derisive eyebrow.

 

“You deal with it, man,” he snorts cheerfully. “You _know_ you should have told them. _How_ do you think _I_ felt the first time it happened on _me_?”

 

Ah, so it was revenge. “Ugh,” Hyukjae groans, even when he feels some kind of odd warmth spread around his belly.

 

It takes about another hour until all the Avengers leave his hospital room one by one. Bucky is the last one to step out as Steve sends Hyukjae a friendly grin from the hallway. And then, it’s just Hyukjae and Big Cat.

Today, Donghae’s shifted into a lean panther. He’s eyeing him accusingly from one corner of the room, spread out on the tiled floor with his head resting on his front paws. His long tail is flicking from left to right, and then sometimes jerks upwards as if Donghae’s about to pounce on him.

Oddly enough, Hyukjae gets the feeling that it’s not the sort of pouncing he’d enjoy.

 

“Uh.” Hyukjae gulps. “Hi?”

 

Donghae growls as he stands up on his four legs. He takes a few steps towards Hyukjae, sniffing him prudently.

 

When there’s no sign that Donghae is going to shift back into his human form, Hyukjae says, “Uh, look, I’m. I’m really sorry? Is it, is it about me not warning you guys about the, the whole staying asleep for a whole week thing? Because I, I get it, I’m sorry, and if I ever get another wild mutant power, I’ll tell you first thing, promise.”

 

The panther tenses and growls menacingly at Hyukjae.

 

“Oh. Oh, maybe, maybe it’s not that, then,” he mumbles lamely.

 

Donghae snorts, which kind of sounds like a cat sneeze, and then in the next fraction of second, he’s suddenly standing on his two human legs. And he’s glaring down at Hyukjae, for a change. Donghae’s fully naked, _again_ , but this time Hyukjae has only eyes for the wrecked expression that Donghae is wearing on his sweet features. No man that beautiful should ever look so scared, or so worried, or so sad.

Hyukjae wants to gather him in his arms, and pet him, and promise, _everything’s okay, everything is going to be okay_. But Donghae tenses when he reaches out, and so he drops his hand down on his lap, and waits.

 

“I don’t, I don’t care about that,” Donghae mumbles. “I mean, you _should_ have told us, _of course_ you should have, but. But you just, you just _ran_ to them, to those monsters, those giant frogs, and you didn’t even ask for back-up or try to _think_ about a plan! You just ran into it head first, and I was just, I was just so _worried_ , and.

“And _then_ you wouldn’t wake up, and your skin was _so cold_ , and I _thought_. I _thought_ that.”

His lips tremble for a fraction of second. His voice is small and strangled when he speaks up again. “I thought that you hadn’t even. You hadn’t even kissed me properly yet.”

 

Oh. _Oh_. Hyukjae feels himself blush all over and he looks away for a second. God, he thinks, pleads, begs. _Fucking hell_ , but does he love Donghae so, so, _so much_. There he is, sad and worried and vulnerable, telling Hyukjae, _you almost left me without a proper goodbye_ , and Hyukjae wants to say. He _wants_ to say. _So much_. So _fucking_ much.

 

“I wouldn’t have died, you know,” he utters softly.

 

“Well, _I_ didn’t know that yet, did I?” Donghae retorts indignantly. “Bucky tried to tell me, _but_. But you, you just felt _so cold_ , Hyukjae, and I. I just _couldn’t tell if_ —”

 

Hyukjae reaches a hand out again, and murmurs, “Come here.”

 

Without an ounce of hesitation, Donghae does. He melts into Hyukjae’s arm, naked and warm and trembling, and it’s all Hyukjae’s fault, and it makes him feel _horrible_. _I’m sorry_ , Hyukjae whispers into Donghae’s hair, and Donghae says, _it’s okay_.

Donghae looks up to him, then, and Hyukjae thinks, _there it is, there it goes_.

Their lips touch in a feathery kiss, and _holy fucking shit_. There are _butterflies_ and _unicorns_ and _sunshine_ everywhere, and Hyukjae could stay here _forever_. Donghae’s mouth is soft and perfect against his own, and Hyukjae groans a little as he presses himself closer. He can feel his powers getting out of control, and suddenly, all the walls are covered with ice, and the glass of water on the bedside table is completely frozen up. It’s so cold around them, but the two of them, they are _so, so warm._

 

“Cold,” Donghae mumbles as he crawls a little closer.

 

“Sorry, sorry,” Hyukjae croaks out huskily as he covers Donghae with his blankets.

 

Donghae chuckles a little shyly, and then they’re kissing _again_. It’s just, it’s just _perfect_ , that’s what it is. So, so fucking _perfect_. There’s no other word, and Hyukjae never, ever wants to let go.

Yes, it’s true, Hyukjae does feel cold—but now he has _Donghae_ to warm him up.

.

 

They hear some noise in the hallway. When Donghae opens the door, the proud and mighty Avengers are all cluttered up against it on the other side, and fall in a heap at his feet. Hyukjae rolls his eyes at them. (But secretly, he smiles.)

  
  



End file.
